Turkey lifts veil on unemployment data, revealing bigger army of jobless A new, broader set of labor statistics has exposed a big gap between Turkey’s official unemployment rate and the actual joblessness in the crisis-hit country. Turkey
Rights group criticizes Jordan over debt imprisonment Human Rights Watch has highlighted the plight of poor Jordanians imprisoned for failing to pay back loans taken out to meet basic needs. Jordan
COVID accelerates evolution of Gulf economies The economic policy response to COVID-19 is an acceleration of specific trends already underway across the Gulf Cooperation Council members, variously affecting tax policy, labor market regulation and immigration policy. Saudi Arabia
Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together. Iran
Saudi money casts shadow over Egypt from sport to stage Saudi Arabia's controversial sports minister, Turki al-Sheikh, has signed a series of deals with Egyptian entertainment companies to produce content for the kingdom, but many in the sector are far from happy about this development. Saudi Arabia
Refusing funds will cost Palestinians, perhaps Israel Several sectors will be affected by the Palestinian Authority’s decision to reject on principle a reduced transfer of tax funds from Israel. Palestine
Despite high price of Syrian reconstruction, business, influence opportunities abound Though Syria's blueprint for reconstruction is ambitious, costly and in some ways at odds with Western priorities, there is some cause for optimism in Damascus' marketing of reconstruction opportunities to friendly states. Syria
Palestinian women entrepreneurs compete for professional assistance The Ministry of National Economy in the West Bank recently launched a competition targeting women working in the food industry in order to encourage their efforts and support national products. Palestine
Outrage as Bibi's private jet budget soars The Israeli prime minister's cabinet has approved huge sums to supply him with a private jet, while security experts protest that the expense is grossly inflated and unjustified. Israel
Saudi crown prince capitalizes on photo ops in Asia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's walk on the Great Wall of China, visits to Pakistan and India and the appointment of a Saudi princess as ambassador to Washington distract attention from the Khashoggi killing and the war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia
Hamas takes control of second Gaza Strip border crossing Palestinian Authority employees claim Hamas forced them to turn over supervision of the Kerem Shalom crossing in Gaza, but Hamas says the workers left because they didn't want to comply with security inspections Hamas imposed. Palestine
Gazans reluctant to import from Egypt despite Hamas’ encouragement Although Hamas reduced fees imposed on goods entering the Gaza Strip, it seems local traders are hesitant to import from Egypt, which imposes high fees on traded products. Palestine
Iraq-Jordan trade deal opens new doors for regional trade A breakthrough trade agreement may signal new trend toward integration; Erdogan plays Syria card in Turkish elections; HTS undermines Turkish-backed groups in Idlib. Iraq
Trump introduced Qatari to donor pursuing nuclear power project, report says A Tennessee businessman says US President Donald Trump introduced him to a potential Qatari investor at his Mar-a-Lago resort in spring 2018. Saudi Arabia
Turkey renews plans to drill off Cyprus Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would begin exploring for hydrocarbons off the Mediterranean island in the coming days, frustrated by what it sees as Cyprus' unilateral exploitation of natural resources. Turkey
Egypt eyes Asian tourists Almost four years after the Russian plane crash over Egypt’s Sinai, the country’s recovering tourism sector is moving to expand the Asian markets. Egypt